Behaviour Change

PROPAGANDA FOR CHANGE is a project created by the students of Behaviour Change (ps359) and Professor Thomas Hills at the Psychology Department of the University of Warwick. This work was supported by funding from Warwick's Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Humans of Leamington Spa

For our behaviour change project,
we wanted to raise awareness about homelessness.

In particular, we wanted to
stress the variety of reasons that can lead to homeless and show how those
unfortunate events could happen to YOU. Firstly, we got in contact with the
Salvation Army in Leamington Spa and started volunteering weekly at the
homeless drop-ins. This was to establish a relationship with those living on
the streets, as well as to investigate the opportunities available to help and
support them.

After 7 months of volunteering,
we managed to obtain several interviews with people who currently are or
previously were homeless. They confided in us their life stories, the difficulties
they face every day as well as the help they receive from the Salvation Army.
We decided the most powerful tool for changing attitudes would be a video using
images, statistics, music and testimonies. In our video we emphasised the
contrast between living in ‘North’ Leamington, the wealthier part represented
by consumer culture against the isolated, forgotten spaces where homeless
people seek refuge.